South Korea flies solid-fuel rocket amid space race with North Korea

South Korea on Monday successfully conducted a flight of a solid-fuel rocket carrying a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island, the defence ministry said, amid a growing space race with neighbouring North Korea.
It was the third successful test of the rocket’s technology after two others in March and December 2022.
The launch on Monday involved technology developed at the state-run Agency for Defense Development, and a booster and satellite produced by South Korea’s Hanwha Systems, the ministry said in a statement.
Hanwha Systems said the satellite, which will be used for civilian purposes including environmental monitoring, had successfully sent signals to the ground control centre.